


Lesson one (you need a cool name)

by MorganBartonRomanoff



Series: Avengers Bingo 2020 [7]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Kate Bishop, Clint Barton & Kate Bishop Friendship, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, First Meetings, Gen, Hero Complex, Mild Language, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganBartonRomanoff/pseuds/MorganBartonRomanoff
Summary: There's a girl with a bow and arrows jumping around and hunting down petty criminals. Clint is concerned and gets it in his head that he should help her. She's like him, after all.She doesn't really need his help, but it's a nice sentiment. Anyway, she only sticks around because of the dog and the free pizza. (The coffee sucks.)Part Seven of my Avengers Bingo; Square filled - Hero Complex
Relationships: Clint Barton & Kate Bishop
Series: Avengers Bingo 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600987
Kudos: 30





	Lesson one (you need a cool name)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my friends Tea and Ally for beta reading!
> 
> Written for the Avengers Bingo 2020 by [avengersbingo](https://avengersbingo.tumblr.com)

He found her in a back alley one late afternoon. She was dressed all in black, elbow pulled back flawlessly, arrow trained on a laughing twenty-something dude. Clint winced as she released a breath just as the man released a scream, the arrow hitting true in his thigh, just missing any major blood vessels and arteries.

Clint could admit he was impressed, but that would mean he somewhat _approved_ what she was doing. And he didn’t. Ohhh, no, he didn’t. Slinging a bow and arrow around New York would attract too much attention, attention he didn’t want or need but would get nonetheless. Not to mention he wasn’t sure if she was just a criminal, or a vigilante, and he honestly wasn’t sure which one was worse.

She whipped around when the man bleeding on the ground cried out to Clint for help, and that’s when he registered that the hooded figure in front of him was actually a girl. Not even a woman, no. A _girl_ , not older than fourteen or something, pointing an arrow at _him_ now, like he was going to be her next victim.

“What did he do,” Clint asked, lazily raising his arms despite the pizza he was balancing in one hand.

“Mugged a pregnant woman,” she growled. Clint raised an eyebrow, face shifting in disgust.

“And you only shot him in the leg? Nice bow, by the way. Nice technique too.” His eyes watched her hold on the weapon tighten, her drawing arm tense. He waited for the kid to speak, but when she didn’t, he said, “can I put my arms down now? The pizza kinda burns.”

It was easier to put his negotiation skills to the use when there was no longer an arrow in his face. It was also easier not to get shot in case it all blew up back at him.

“I suggest from experience that we call the cops now and exchange archery tips over pizza after they’ve taken care of the scumbag. How’s that sound?”

“Why the hell would I go anywhere with you?”

“Because I’ve been doing this longer and could give you some pointers?”

“I don’t need your help,” the girl snapped. _Gee_ , Clint thought. _Fine_.

“Your loss,” he shrugged and turned to walk away. “Just don’t get yourself killed. I don’t need that on my conscience.”

“Fuck you,” she yelled after him and he chuckled. She was _so_ gonna get her ass kicked. He had no doubt he would see her again, and sooner rather than later.

“Take your arrow with you as you go,” was his answering holler.

Clint dug his phone out of his pocket and dialled nine-one-one.

“Hi, I just saw a man in an alley with a stab wound. I’m pretty sure you’ll find stolen belongings on him, too.”

* * *

"Cute dog."

Clint didn’t jump, he was too well trained for that. He was surprised, though. The man hadn’t expected _her_ to find _him_ , more like the other way around.

He could feel her right behind him. He untied Lucky’s leash from the lamppost with one hand and turned around to face her.

“You should hear him snore,” he said. “Ain’t so cute then.”

The girl fell into step with him, and Clint wondered if maybe it was a bad idea to guide her in the general direction of his apartment.

“I don’t need your help,” she told him. He raised an eyebrow.

“Then why are you here?”

“I’ve been shooting arrows since I can remember, and I’m good at martial arts. I pick my targets carefully and I have a good lawyer and an alibi, just in case.”

“ _Then why are you here_?” he repeated.

“I don’t need your help.”

“So you’ve said,” Clint snarked.

“Shut up. I don’t _need_ it, but it probably won’t do any harm to have some more tricks up my sleeve either.” He stopped, eyes narrowed in evaluation. Lucky used the chance to sniff at the stranger. Clint saw the dog lick at her fingers, and her expression shifted, eyes softening and lips tugging in a smile.

If he were someone else, his dog’s approval might have had more weight, but he was in the spy business and he didn’t trust easily. Lucky, on the other hand, did. The dog waggled his tail at any opportunity of head scratches.

“You know,” he finally said as he resumed his stride. “You say you don’t need my help but it sounds an awful lot like you do.”

“Hey, you came up with the offer.”

“Yes, and you turned me down only to come asking for help a week later. So?” He was riling her up on purpose, but he needed to know how serious she was about this. People like her didn’t belong on the streets, fighting for the little guy. From what he could see, from her shiny hair and the perfume wafting off her with every gust of wind, and from the brand new, most likely _designer_ clothes she was wearing, she belonged in a boarding school or whatever.

Her nostrils flared and her glare sharpened. “You’re an asshole,” she snapped.

“And you’re a child,” Clint retorted. They passed the alley from the previous week. “Did you retrieve your arrow like I told you to?”

“Yeah, what was that about? And I’m not a child.”

The man cackled. “You _so_ need my help, little one.”

“I will kick your ass. Arrow?”

“You take the weapon away, it looks like a normal stabbing. Normal stabbing means suspicion is off us–”

“Us?”

“-And even if that guy talked, no one would believe that a middle schooler with a bow and arrow shot him.”

“I’m _sixteen_ , you jackass.”

“The mouth on you. And yes, us, bow-wielding badasses. You’re not the only one.” He chastised himself mentally for actually sounding so offended. They stopped at a red light and Clint turned to the girl again. He didn't even know her name and he'd already half-convinced himself to teach her everything he knew, oddly enthusiastic at the prospect of having a protégée. 

“Listen, kid,–”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

“Well I don’t know what to call you,” he retaliated. “You can’t keep going around shooting at people. You’re gonna get yourself in trouble.”

“I don’t need you to worry about me, old man.”

“I’m not that old,” he frowned. _He wasn’t that old._

“I don’t know what to call you either,” she shrugged. They crossed over and Clint extended a hand.

“I’m Clint. Nice to meet you, I think.”

“Kate.” She shook it.

“Great,” the man sighed and continued walking. They had two blocks left until they reached his building and they needed to come to an agreement before that. And if they didn’t, he’d have to keep walking to throw her off his trail. A thought hit him then. “Hey, how did you find me?”

The girl smirked. It was hard to believe she wasn’t actually fourteen, but it had been a while since Clint had hung around teenagers. “I saw the name on the pizza box. Found the nearest place to where we met and decided to try my luck during the same time frame.”

“How many days, though?”

“Three, but that’s unimportant,” she waved him off.

“Actually, it’s not. If you’d given up that first time, it would have meant you’re not as determined about this whole gig as you say you are. Why do you care so much?”

Kate fumed. “Why shouldn’t I help if I can? Why should I just let bad guys get away if I can stop them? I’m sick of watching people just look away from injustice and pretend that it doesn’t exist and that all is well in the world. And most of all I’m sick of everyone telling me that I can’t do anything about it. Guess what, just watch me.”

Clint smirked. She wasn’t a bad kid. Her heart was in the right place and she was full of potential but she had a lot to learn. So far, he’d gathered that she most likely had trouble at home, she had a strong sense of justice and was definitely too stubborn for her own good.

“So you have a hero complex, then?”

“I _do not_ –”

“Are you not saying that you’re going to help people on your own terms because everyone else is incompetent?”

She tried to defend herself. “Yes, but–“

“And you don’t think that you should pick your opponents wisely in case they’re better armed and less morally correct than you?”

“If I’m fast enough–“ _No sense of self-preservation, huh?_

“And you don’t want to receive any recognition for–“

“Stop interrupting me,” Kate finally snapped. “Okay. I got your point. I may have some issues but that’s entirely my problem.”

Clint’s eyes softened and he made up his mind. He made the correct turn and his building came into view. “Not if it gets you killed,” he told her and handed over the box to take out his keys. “Listen, I’m gonna feel guilty if I leave you to deal with this on your own and I’m really not gonna hear the end of it when my partner finds out about this in any case, so if you’re up for it, we can start today.”

She looked sceptical. “What, at your place?” Clint scoffed.

“I’m not a creep. We’re going to the roof. More space and less junk. I’ll get you coffee if you want.”

“Sure,” she inclined, and he had no doubt her head was full of ways to take him down if he tried something. _Good. Natasha would like her_ , he thought.

“By the way, you were the one who followed me home, not the other way around, you know.”

Clint led Kate up the stairs, all the way to the roof, and left her there with Lucky and the pizza. He returned a few minutes later with two mugs of coffee and some napkins, bow and quiver swung over his shoulder.

“Okay,” he started and handed one cup to her. “You’re gonna show me what you’ve got and then we’ll see what we can improve to make you more subtle, stealthy and discreet.”

“I’m stealthy enough,” she grumbled but Clint didn’t deign her with a response.

He pointed to a target, all the way across, and took off his weapon to give it to her. He watched her stance, posture and movements, and observed her technique.

The wire tensed, she slowed her breathing, and relaxed her hand. The arrow whooshed through the air and landed with a _thump_. Clint smiled. A perfect bullseye. She wasn’t exaggerating her skills, then. But that was an easy shot, and they had other things to worry about before they got to the good part.

He nodded in approval when she turned to face him with a grin. “Nice one.”

“An easy one,” she retorted. “I could do that in my room too. When does it get interesting?”

Clint opened the pizza box and the scent of the cheesy goodness distracted him for a second. It might not have been as warm anymore, but pizza was pizza. He took out two pieces, sticking one in his mouth and lowering the other to Lucky’s level. The dog licked his nose before he took it and laid down to enjoy his dinner.

“Soon,” Clint promised and gestured for her to help herself. “Lesson one,” he grinned and bit down into his slice. “You need a cool name.”

Kate’s face fell. “Are you being serious?”

He nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, I am. You want to be a vigilante or a superhero or whatever, fine, but you gotta have a cool name, otherwise when the media gets news about you, they’re gonna dub you something mega-lame like ‘the Archer’ or ‘the New York Robin Hood’ or something equally stupid.”

“How do you know so much about this?”

“You don’t wanna know.” A grin stretched over her face and Clint knew he’d be tricked into telling her one day.

“Well, I haven’t thought about anything,” she admitted and took a sip of her coffee. Her brows furrowed and her lips pulled back in disgust. “This is terrible.”

He raised an eyebrow at her as she brought the mug back to her lips. “Don’t drink it then?” he suggested.

“Fuck off,” she shot back. “Got any suggestions for me?”

Clint shrugged. “The hell am I supposed to know?”

“Well considering how well informed you are about everything else, I assumed you’ve already been down this path and had some names you rejected. Hey, what’s yours?”

“Classified.”

“That’s a lame name,” Kate smirked and he rolled his eyes. He’d piqued her interest, though. “Is it really?”

“Yeah. If I told you, a squad of heavily armed men would track you down and shoot you, and then cover it all up.”

“Funny,” she snorted. “Seriously, though, what’s your secret vigilante name?”

“I’m not a vigilante.”

“Whatever.”

“I really can’t tell you, Katie,” he shook his head. It was for her own good.

She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t call me that.”

“I thought you said that’s your name.” He furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side.

“It’s _Kate_ ,” she emphasised.

Clint shrugged. “Same difference.” Kate rolled her eyes and returned to their previous topic.

“Tell me your secret name,” she insisted. Stubborn, so stubborn. It was a good thing Clint was more so.

“Why?” He asked it simply, partially to rile her up and partially out of curiosity. Why was it so important to her? He couldn’t help a sliver of suspicion to snake in his mind.

“Why not,” she grinned, eyes glinting mischievously. “Is it bad? Are you embarrassed to say?”

Clint snorted and leaned back on the ledge. “No. I told you, it’s classified.”

“Ugh, you’re no fun,” Kate whined and he was reminded that he’d taken up training a minor, a _child_ , to use a weapon with an ulterior motive. He was practically encouraging her and he knew how badly the whole thing was gonna end.

“That’s a lie, but sure.” He looked over to Lucky who’d sprawled out on the pavement near their feet, eyes closed. He really didn’t want to play the Responsible Adult card but he felt she was mature enough to realise when the fun and games turned into business. “Look, just pick a name and get it over with so we can get on with the actual archery, okay?”

This whole conversation was exhausting him and not even the coffee was helping.

“Fine,” she relented. They dismissed Bullseye, Longshot and Arrow, with Clint cringing at the first two and barking out a laugh at the third.

“Fun fact,” he chuckled. “That used to be Lucky’s name before I rescued him.”

“Seriously?” She had an eyebrow raised and a half-grin tugging at her lips.

“Look,” Clint sighed. This had gone on for too long and he actually wanted to get his hands on the arrows that day. “Why don’t you think outside of the box,” he suggested. She picked up another slice of pizza and chewed thoughtfully.

“Hawkeye,” she declared finally. Clint froze with the last of his coffee raised halfway to his mouth.

“Did you just come up with that?” The sliver of suspicion had turned into a serpent, coiling around his lungs. This kid couldn’t be a spy, could she? She was too young. Then again, so had Natasha been.

“Yeah, why?” She looked genuinely confused at his sharp tone.

“And you’re sure you haven’t heard of it before,” he tried. Maybe she would slip, maybe something in her face would crack and he would expose her. And maybe he was just being paranoid. He was a spy. Paranoia kept him alive.

“Not that I can remember,” she drawled, looking at him weirdly. “Why?”

“How did you think of it,” he pressed on. Kate shrugged, raising her arms in the air.

“I dunno. Hawks are predators and they have great eyesight. And I go after criminals and rarely ever miss. Why does this bother you so much?” She side-eyed him. “You’re the one who told me to think outside of the box.”

Clint took a breath to answer, but stopped himself in time. Half of him was screaming that this was a trap and that he should be alert and not let the little girl fool him. The other half was entertained as hell and refused to believe his new friend was one of the bad guys. He usually had a good hunch when it came to shady people, and Kate was as shady as a desert. Still, being cautious never hurt anybody, and he made sure his bow was in reach when he decided to deal with the consequences of it later and just tell her. If he was right, it wouldn’t matter to her. If he was wrong, he could take her down in under two minutes, as bad as it would make him feel, and bring her into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

“That’s my name,” he blurted out, body tense and ready for battle. Kate snorted.

“Sure.”

Okay. That was weird. Maybe it was a tactic, though. He couldn’t lower his guard just yet.

“I’m serious, Kate. That’s my codename. You can’t have it.”

“Too late. I like it and it was my own idea. I’m keeping it.”

Clint scrunched up his face. “That’s not how it works. You can’t go around the city using that name.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s dangerous. I have enemies and if they hear about a Hawkeye, they’re gonna come after you.” His teeth clenched on their own accord and he exhaled sharply through his nose. “You know what, I changed my mind. You don’t need a name.”

“No,” she drawled, giving him an odd look. “You were right. If I’m doing this I’m gonna need a cool name. And I like Hawkeye.”

“Maybe you _shouldn’t_ be doing this,” he snapped back. There was no way this irresponsible teenager was out to get him. And maybe him trying to help her wasn’t going to work out. Maybe he should send her home and inform her parents. But was that really the right way? If she really did have problems with her family like he thought… “Listen, you seem like a nice kid, you probably have a lot of friends and nothing to worry over besides exams or whatever. Why are you doing this? Why are you _really_ doing this?”

She stared over the edge and kept quiet. A minute later, she finally turned to him. Her face was hard, shadowed by the setting sun, and her eyes held both vulnerability and disdain.

“I can’t just sit in that house. It’s… it’s so empty without her there and… it’s so empty.”

Oh. She was using law-breaking as a coping mechanism. Charming. Clint could relate to that.

“Your mom?” His voice came out softer than he’d even thought it would. He knew what it was like to lose a parent, even though his situation hadn’t been the same as hers. Kate nodded and cleared her throat.

“My father said it was a car accident. I don’t think I believe that. I think he was abusing her and she tried to get away from him, and he made sure she didn’t.” She shook her head. “I can’t stay in that house with him when she’s gone.”

Clint put an arm on her shoulder and quirked one corner of his lips. They were more alike than he’d assumed in the beginning. Maybe if he trained her… If he taught her the ropes… Maybe she would turn out better than him. It was worth the shot. He threw a glance at the sun. It was still light enough to teach her at least something.

He grabbed his bow and nudged his head in the direction of the target. Kate followed.

“Lesson two. Let me see your anchor points,” he instructed. Kate drew back the wire and he saw the tension dissipate from her face.

“I’m keeping Hawkeye,” she stated and released the arrow. Clint pinched the bridge of his nose.

“ _Katie, no_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you enjoyed it and I hope you have a great day! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> If you're interested, check out my other works :)
> 
> Find me on tumblr: [ohwriteiforgot](https://ohwriteiforgot.tumblr.com)


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